The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 45,468 | 97.22% | 55,654 | 93.24% |
| Spanish | 765 | 1.64% | 3,504 | 5.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 424 | 0.91% | 428 | 0.72% |
| Asian Language** | 103 | 0.22% | 69 | 0.12% |
| Other | 7 | 0.01% | 31 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 46,767 | 100.00% | 59,686 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,998 | 57.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 169 | 39.49% |
| Asian Language** | 44 | 63.77% |
| Other Language | 21 | 67.74% |
| Total | 2,232 | 3.74% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 247 | 32.29% |
| Other Indo-European* | 130 | 30.66% |
| Asian Language** | 42 | 40.78% |
| Other Language | 4 | 57.14% |
| Total | 423 | 0.90% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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